Adjustable throat mechanism for sorting machines



May 17, 1949. G. v. A. MALMROS ETAL 2,470,442

ADJUSTABLE THROAT MECHANISM FOR SORTING MACHINES Filed Nov. 12, 1947INVENTOR 'Gam'm/ lllfalmros, fdmundtbarben/r,

BY edw i spun-QM:

AGENT Patented May 17 1949 ADJUSTABLE THROAT MECHANISM FOR SORTINGMACHINES Gustav V. A. Malmros, Binghamton,

A. Barber, Jr., Johnson City,

and Edmund N. Y., assignors to International Business MachinesCorporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York ApplicationNovember 12, 1947, Serial No. 785,292 2 Claims. (Cl. 271-44) The presentinvention relates to an adjustable throat mechanism by means of whichrecord material in the form of source documents which are each attachedto an individual carrier vehicle in the form of a punched tabulatingcard may, in combination, be fed from a magazine or feed hopper to thefeed rolls of a sorting machine and from thence conducted to the sensinginstrumentalities, distributing means and ultimately to the receivingpockets of a sorting machine.

It has recently been proposed for the successful sorting of sourcedocuments such as cheques, drafts, receipts, sales slips, bills oflading, etc., which have no common size, shape, thickness or stockweight, and in which there are no special or unique identifying meanssuch as perforations, removed corners, cutaway portions conductiveregions or the like which are capable of detection by conventionalsorting machines, that each source document be folded or creased alongits short dimension and that a conventional punched tabulating card beinserted in the crease or fold in such a manner that the leading edge ofthe card is closely nested within the fold with the document overlying.an unpunched region of the card. If the document is sufliciently long itis permitted to overlap the trailing edge of the card. In this mannerthe document and card are effectively secured to each other for sortinpurposes. The combined documents and cards are then stacked insuperimposed relationship in the feed magazine of a sorting machine ofmore or less conventional design which has been modified to accommodatethe card and document combinations and sorting takes place in somewhatthe usual manner with the cards acting as carrier vehicles to conducttheir individual attached documents to the correct sorting pocket.

Such a sorting machine has been shown and described in a copendingapplication of C. Bruce Church, Serial No. 773,254, filed September 10,1947, for Method of and apparatus for sorting manuscripts, documents andthe like, and referonce may be had thereto for a full disclosure anddescription of the operation thereof.

Inasmuch as in sorting cards according to the method shown and describedin the above mentioned application of Church, the source documentsoccupy an overlying position on one side of the cards, the combinedcards and documents, when stacked in the feed magazine, present a stackwhich is materially thicker at one side than at the other. This resultsin an uneven weight distribution on the bottom of the magazine and, as aconsequence, presents certain diflic-ulties in feeding the card anddocument combination from the bottom of the stack, particularly whenconventional card feed picker mechanism is employed. Furthermore, wherea large number of card and document combinations are contained in asingle stack withthe usual card weight resting on the top thereof, thetendency of the uppermost card and document combinations in the stack isto assume an undue inclination and thus interfere with the downwardfeeding of the various units which comprise the stack.

In order to facilitate feeding of the card and document combinationsfrom the bottom of such a stack the present invention contemplates theprovision of an adjustable throat mechanism including a throat openingwhich is disposed at a level slightly above the level of the bottom ofthe feed magazine together with an inclined surface or ramp thereforupon which the forward edges of the cards may ride upwardly inapproaching the throat opening. In this manner it is assured that therear edge of the lowermost card in the stack is maintained flush withthe bottom of the feed magazine where it is in proper position forengagement by the forward edges of the picker knives when it is desiredto feed a card and document combination from the bottom of the stack.

The specific nature of the throat opening mentioned above constitutesone of the features of the present invention and, accordingly, it is anobject of the present invention to provide such a throat opening whichwill best accommodate the feeding of the card and document combinationsfrom the bottom of the stack with little or no tendency for thecombinations to jam regardless of any discrepancy that may exist betweenthe size, shape, stock weight, thickness or stiffness of the individualdocuments which cooperate to make up the stack.

In order to alleviate the tendency of the uppermost card and chequecombinations in the stack to become unduly inclined, the presentinvention further contemplates the provision of a feed magazine havingopposed side portions which, in the upper regions thereof are spacedfrom each other a distance which is slightly less than the length oftheindividual tabulating cards, thus placing a slight but effective bindupon these upper cards thereby creating a slight bow in the cards whichis conducive toward combating the tendency of the cards to becomecanted. In the lower regions of the magazine the sides are spaced fromeach other a distance equal to the full length of the cards so that thelowermost card may assume a forming a part position with its rear edgeflush with the bottom of the magazine for proper cooperating with thepicker knives which are associated with the feeding instrumentalities.

The provision of a card feeding throat mechanism of the charactergenerally outlined above and of a cooperating feed magazine thereforbeing the principal object of the invention, numerous other objects andadvantages not at this time enumerated will become more readily apparentas the following description ensues.

In the accompanying single sheet of drawing of this specification:

Fig. 1 is a, fragmentary perspective view of a sorting machine having afeed magazine and throat mechanism constructed in accordance with theprinciples of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the throat openingproper, and

Fig. 3 is a perspective view, schematic in its representation, showinga, folded document and card combination.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, the sorting machine shownfragmentarily herein is of the type shown and described in the abovementioned application of Church. This machine is in a large measuresimilar to conventional sorting machines employing horizontal sortingmeans as for example the machine shown and described in the patent toHorsfield, No. 1,933,328, dated October 31, 1933. The similarity ofconstruction of the present machine with the above mentioned patent isparticularly noticeable in connection with the specific location andmounting and relation to one another of the various assemblies andoperating instrumentalities including the framework IO, feed magazinell, picker mechanism l2, adjustable throat mechanism l4, sensinginstrumentalities (not shown) sensing brush adjusting mechanism l6, feedrolls l8, card distributing devices (not shown) card receiving locationsor pockets i9 etc. Reference may be had to the above mentioned patentfor a full understanding of the nature and operation of suchconventional sorter mechanisms and the present description will, in alarge measure, be devoted to the modifications by means of which thepresent document sorting machine together with its adjustable throatmechanism has been made possible.

Referring now to Fig. 3, a source document which may be in the form of aconventional bank cheque is designated in its entirety at 20 and, forsorting purposes, each such cheque is adapted to be associated with apunched tabulating card 22 which may be of the Hollerith type, thelatter serving as a conducting vehicle for'transporting the chequethrough the sorting machine from the feed hopper II to the particularreceiving pocket Is to which the cheque is assigned. The card 22 alsoserves as an identifying instrument and function device whereby properchute blade selection is made for the proper selective sorting of astack of the assembled cheques and cards contained in the feed hopper.

Toward these ends, each source document or cheque is folded adjacent oneend on a line which extends parallel to its smaller dimension and theleading edge of its respective tabulating card is inserted in the foldwith the cheque occupying a position close to the left hand end of thecard as viewed in Fig. 3. The right hand region of the card is leftexposed and is reserved for the provision of a series of perforations 24therein, these perforations preferably being formed in the cardaccording to the well known Hollerith code their attached picker knivesproper 44.

and serving to identify the associated cheque in a desired manner, asfor example according to the name of the maker, or the payee, thebanking district or the bank itself, the cheque amount or any other dataappearing on the cheque.

The assembled cheques or other documents 20 and their carrier vehiclecards 22 are placed in the feed hopper in stacked relationship with thecheques occupying a position at the left hand side of the magazine asviewed in Fig. 1 and with the trailing ends of the cheques extendingrearwardly beyond the confines of the magazine. The feed magazine is, ingeneral similar to that shown in the patent to Horsfield, cited above,and includes a bottom 26, side members 28, a front plate 30 to whichthere are secured a pair of vertical guide strips or aligners 32 whichare curved as at 34 and extend forwardly beneath the first feed rollassembly 36 and which cooperate with a pair of card supporting plates 38to provide therebetween a card path or channel leading from the feedmagazine II. The hopper also in cludes a rear upstanding card guide 40at one side of the magazine, the space existing between this guide 40and the side wall 28 serving to permit projection of the trailing endsof the cheques 20 to extend beyond the confines of the magazine. Thepicker mechanism i2 is likewise similar to that shown in the Horsfleldpatent and includes the usual linkage system (not shown) which operatesthe reciprocable picker slides 42 and These assemblies are situated inthe bottom of the feed magazine and the knives 44 are adapted uponreciprocation of their respective assemblies 42 to engage the rear edgeof the lowermost card 20 in the stack and advance the same, togetherwith the associated cheque or document, through and past the-adjustablethroat mechanism I4;

A feed disabling mechanism is designated in its entirety at 50 andincludes an electromagnet 52 and tiltable frame assembly 54, the latteropersecured within a ating under the control of the magnet to engage theunderneath side of the lowermost card in the stack to elevate its rearedge and prevent the picker knives 44 from engaging the latter and thusprevent feeding of the cards and cheques from the stack on alternatemachine cycles. The feed disabling mechanism just described forms noparts of the present invention and reference may be had to the abovementioned application of Church for a full description of theconstruction and operation of the same.

The adjustable throat mechanism comprising the present inventionincludes a vertically extending throat plate 60 which is adjustablysecured between guides 62 to the guide plate 30 and which is providedwith a lower throat edge 64 (see also Fig. 2) which is inclined slightlyfrom the horizontal for reasons that will be made clear presently.

The throat edge 64 is designed for cooperation with aroller 66 having acurved surface and provided with trunnions 68 which are rotatablyjournalled in a yoke member 10 which is seated and groove 72 providedwithin the bottom of the feed magazine II.

The curvature of the surface of the roller 66 is preferably circular butnot necessarily so and the degree of curvature thereof is calculated inaccordance with engineering exigencies to cooperate with the inclinededge 64 to produce an inclined passage for the leading edge of the cardstherethrough, the transverse axis of which deviates from the horizontalby approximately 1 To produce such an inclined throat opening, it hasbeen found that the inclined edge 6i may deviate from the horizontal byan angle of approximately 1 /2 with the parallel radius being selectedto give a drop off at its ends from the medial plane thereof ofapproximately .006 inch.

The yoke member is wedge shaped and its upper surface is inclinedupwardly toward the throat opening so that the leading edges of thecards in the medial regions thereof are slightly elevated from the levelof the magazine bottom. The throat opening existing between the roller66 and the throat edge 64 is correspondingly elevated to accommodatereception of the card edges.

As shown in Fig. 2 which is a view looking directly at the throatopening from inside the feed magazine, the throat edge is inclinedslightly from the horizontal as indicated by the angle and the angle ofinclination is relatively small with the edge inclining upwardly fromleft to right. Thus the bottom of the card 20, in passing through thethroat opening makes a point contact with the periphery of the roller 66which is slightly to the left of the center of the roller.

The exact inclination of the edge 64 has been determined by empiricalmethods and is calculated to equal the average degree of angularity ofthe leading edge of the card occasioned by virtue of the increasedweight of the thick end of the stack and of the curvature applied to thecards by the height of the wedge-shaped yoke member 10. In efiect theleft hand or thick region of the stack is seated in a depression whilethe tendency of the wedge-shaped yoke is to cant the stack slightly andelevate the right hand region thereof. Thus in the immediate vicinity ofthe throat opening the leading edge of the bottom card is inclinedslightly upwardly and to the right. The inclined edge 54 accommodatesthis inclination and insures maximum efficiency of operation of the cardfeeding mechanism as a whole. As previously stated, most eflicientoperation is attained when the" inclination of the edge 64 isapproximately 1 /2".

When a. stack of combined cheques and cards are placed in the feedmagazine I I with the usual card weight on the top thereof the ordinarytendency of the uppermost card and cheque combinations in the magazinewould be to assume a sharply inclined angle with respect to thehorizontal and such a phenomenon would ordinarily interfere'with theproper downward feeding of the material contained in the stack. Toremedy such a condition, the upper regions of the magazine H arenarrower than the lower regions.

as to bring the rear edge of the lowermost card into the vicinity of thepicker knives 44. Any

discrepancy in the angularity of the rear edge of the card in thevicinity of the picker knives will be accommodated by virtue of the factthat the picker knives are tiltably mounted in the slide assemblies 42as shown at I2.

While there have been shown and described and pointed out thefundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a preferredembodiment, it will be understood that various omissions Specifically,the distance between the two sides 2B in the upper regions thereof isslightly less than the length of one of the tabulating cards 20 andthese sides are recessed as of I4 so that the lower regions of themagazine are approximately the full length of the cards. The tendency isthus to cause those cards which occupy the upper regions of the stack tohave a slight downwardly bowed curvature, i. e. with the end andsubstitutions and changes in the form and details of the deviceillustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the artwithout departing from the spirit of the invention. It is the intention,therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:

'1. A throat mechanism for feeding card and document assemblies of thecharacter described comprising a vertically extending guide plate, avertically extending throat plate secured to said guide plate and havinga lower edge which is inclined slightly from the horizontal, a rollerfreely mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis and having an outersurface which is curved in a longitudinal direction, said roller beingdisposed beneath said inclined edge with its surface spaced from saidedge a distance substantially equal to the thickness of one of the cardsincluded in said assemblies.

2. A throat mechanism as claimed in claim 1 including means for varyingthe vertical position 1 of said throat plate to vary the distancebetween said edge and surface of the roller to accommodate cards ofvarying thicknesses.

GUSTAV V. A. MALMROS. EDMUND A. BARBER. JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number

